Stay on target

Pokémon Sun and Moon came out Friday, and people have already found some really… creepy things hidden in these games, particularly in the PokeDex entries.

For example, Golduck’s entry states: “It is said that the red part of its forehead grants supernatural powers to those who possess one, so it was over-hunted in the past.”

What makes that weird is that Pokémon are generally presented as sapient. They are self-aware, they can form tight bonds with their trainers, and they’re clearly shown as being far more intelligent than just about every animal we know of here in the real world. They can understand natural human language, interpret complex commands, etc. Many of them, especially Psychic-type Pokémon, are often more intelligent than humans.

Some Pokémon, though, flips that script. Froslass’s data reads: “When it finds humans or Pokémon it likes, it freezes them and takes them to its chilly den, where they become decorations.” Sooo… that’s creepy. But, I mean, I guess, in context, we did have it coming.

Mimikyu, the Pikachu-mimicking Ghost-type Pokémon is pretty weird too. It has two forms, “disguised” and “busted.” Normally, it pretends to be a Pikachu, but once it has sustained enough damage, its head flops over, and its neck breaks. In Sun, the data for its busted form says: “After going to all the effort of disguising itself, its neck was broken. Whatever is inside is probably unharmed, but it’s still feeling sad.”

The mega evolution of Glalie is also unnerving as it suggests that mega evolving is excruciating.

“The excess energy from Mega Evolution spilled over from its mouth, breaking its jaw. It spews endless blizzards.”

The Pokémon games have always hidden some eerie bits in an otherwise soft and child-friendly shell. Pokémon Red and Blue, for example, kick-started a popular fan theory that you, as a player, may have killed one of your rival’s Pokémon. Your rival catches a Rattata early on. Later it evolves into a Raticate, but after one particular battle. You next meet your rival at a Pokémon graveyard, but he never has the Raticate again.

These entries take it a step further, though, implying that the Pokémon universe is a lot harsher than we suspected. And to a point, it makes sense. People and Pokémon have to eat, and with so many different kinds of creatures, it’s natural that some would end up hunted or hunting us. But what makes this weird is that, unlike cows or whatever, these Pokémon know EVERYTHING that’s happening. That’s… messed up.

If you’re interested in exploring some of these entries yourself, you can pick up Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon from Amazon.